


in secret

by withoutwords



Series: Ballum Tumblr Fics [2]
Category: EastEnders (TV)
Genre: Affairs, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, M/M, POV Outsider
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-04
Updated: 2020-12-04
Packaged: 2021-03-09 23:54:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 790
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27874926
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/withoutwords/pseuds/withoutwords
Summary: “Mum!” Ben shouts when he walks into the kitchen in nothing but his boxer shorts, Kathy holding the kettle under the tap. She rolls her eyes.“Oh, God, don’t tell me. You brought a bit of stuff home for your lunch break?”
Relationships: Callum "Halfway" Highway/Ben Mitchell
Series: Ballum Tumblr Fics [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2040865
Kudos: 42





	in secret

Kathy’s had a long, torturous morning at the cafe, and is set for a long torturous afternoon at the bar; so she quickly stops in at home to get something to eat, freshen up and recharge. Between training new people, and dealing with brainless customers and making sure she’s not screwed over by suppliers, she feels like her brain is turning to mush.

Which isn’t saying a lot, when she thinks about life before the Prince Albert.

It’s like she thrives on stress.

“Mum!” Ben shouts when he walks into the kitchen in nothing but his boxer shorts, Kathy holding the kettle under the tap. She rolls her eyes.

“Oh, God, don’t tell me. You brought a bit of stuff home for your lunch break?”

“What are you doing here?” he demands, and Kathy starts to feel a little confused. Since when does Ben care that she’s caught him with his pants down, so to speak? Usually he’d be singing about it.

“Nothing, nothing, I just have to...” Just as Ben is backing out of the room, someone grabs him from behind and pulls him in. They’re just out of the frame, by the bottom of the stairs, but Ben pushes them off before more can happen.

“What are you doing?” a familiar voice says with a laugh. “I thought you was getting food so we can work up to round two.”

“Go upstairs!” Ben calls at the same time Kathy realises,

“ _Callum_?”

and suddenly Ben’s fear at seeing her home makes sense. Her son isn’t sleeping with a random hook up. He’s sleeping with Callum Highway.

“Kath - Mrs B - I’m sorry,” Callum is stuttering, at least having had hte presence of mind to put a t-shirt on. “I’m so sorry.”

Callum disappears up the stairs while Ben hides his face in his hands, still a step out of the room and looking shamed. Kathy’s not sure why her own hands are shaking. She’s not sure why she’s surprised. Ben’s always managed to make every situation hard for herself.

“He’s married,” she finally says. She’s not about to lecture him - God knows she’s made plenty of her own mistakes - but she wants more for him. Of course she does. She doesn’t want him to give up on having something like he had before. True love. “He’s married Ben, I - ”

“Yeah, mum,” Ben says sarcastically. “I know. Seeing as I was there and all…”

“Then why … why?”

Ben gives her a look. A look that she recognises almost straight away, and makes her slump onto a stool with disbelief. Ben wasn’t just sleeping with him.

Ben was in love with him.

“How long?”

“Long enough.”

“Oh, Ben.”

“Mum.” Ben comes over, holding Kathy’s shoulders and looking at her sincerely. There were so many things racing through her mind - poor Ben, poor Whitney, why this, why them - but she couldn’t miss how serious Ben was. How worried. “You can’t say anything. To any one. If Callum - I don’t want him to get scared off, alright? I can’t lose him. I can’t…”

“I wouldn’t,” she tells him honestly, pulling him in for a hug. “I won’t. But just think about this, okay Ben? Think about what it’s doing to ya. You deserve better than that. You deserve the best.”

“Thanks mum.”

They stay like that for a while, holding each other, until Callum’s standing at the doorway fully dressed and holding his jacket. He clears his throat.

“I’m gonna go.”

Ben turns and is over there so quickly it’s like a whirlwind. Kathy watches, fascinated, as he grabs Callum’s hand and talks to him in a whisper and kisses Callum’s cheek. It’s soft and intimate and real.

Kathy can see it in Callum’s eyes.

“Sorry, again,” Callum says, turning his attention to her. “I didn’t mean for - I mean - I hope you don’t hate me.”

Kathy’s not sure how she feels about him. Clearly he cares about Ben - so he gets points for that at least. And sure, maybe he’s just a confused, scared, young man trying to work out what’s the right thing for everyone. She knows Ben was there once; she knows the pain they all went through.

But it’s different this time. It’s her son’s heart that’s being messed with now.

“We’ll see,” she says, and goes back to making her cup of tea. Ben kisses Callum at the door, and mutters something else, and says nothing to Kathy when he goes back upstairs to his room. She cries when he’s gone, silent and unknown - for the boy he used to be, and the man he might be, and all the love he deserves. 

After all this, she’ll welcome the stress of work.

Being a mother is so much harder.


End file.
